U.S. patent application number 10/986804 was filed with the patent office on 2005-09-01 for computer program for designing treating member and system for providing service using the program.
Invention is credited to Miyake, Ryo, Okada, Ryoji, Otaguro, Toshio, Sasaki, Naoya.
Application Number | 20050192759 10/986804 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34836466 |
Filed Date | 2005-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050192759 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Miyake, Ryo ; et
al. |
September 1, 2005 |
Computer program for designing treating member and system for
providing service using the program
Abstract
A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for
designing a treating member contains a first code segment adapted
to acquiring a piece of input information containing a treatment
sequence; and a second code segment adapted to designing a flow
path along which a sample moves, based on the piece of input
information.
Inventors: |
Miyake, Ryo; (Tsukuba,
JP) ; Otaguro, Toshio; (Tsukuba, JP) ; Okada,
Ryoji; (Chiyoda, JP) ; Sasaki, Naoya; (Tomobe,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ANTONELLI, TERRY, STOUT & KRAUS, LLP
1300 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET
SUITE 1800
ARLINGTON
VA
22209-3873
US
|
Family ID: |
34836466 |
Appl. No.: |
10/986804 |
Filed: |
November 15, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
702/19 ;
705/3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01L 3/5027 20130101;
G16H 20/10 20180101; G06F 30/00 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
702/019 ;
705/003 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60; G06F
019/00; G01N 033/48 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 27, 2004 |
JP |
2004-055354 |
Claims
1. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for
designing a treating member, comprising: a first code segment
adapted to acquiring a piece of input information comprising a
treatment sequence; and a second code segment adapted to designing
a flow path along which a sample moves, based on said piece of
input information.
2. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein said piece of
input information further comprises one or more pieces of
information selected from the group consisting of a piece of
physical property value information about said sample, a piece of
treatment condition information about said sample, and a piece of
liquid sample related information.
3. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein said flow
path is designed by optimizing a piece of shape information, read
out from a database in which the treatment sequence and the piece
of shape information are stored to correlate with each other, based
on a piece of information included in said piece of input
information.
4. The computer program according to claim 1, further comprising a
third segment adapted to outputting a piece of design information
about the designed flow path.
5. The computer program according to claim 1, further comprising a
fourth segment adapted to constructing a piece of drive control
information about the designed treating member.
6. A system for providing a service to design a treating member,
the system comprising the steps of: acquiring a piece of design
information about a flow path along which a sample moves, designed
based on a piece of input information comprising a treatment
sequence; creating a piece of control information for controlling a
treating-member fabrication unit based on said piece of design
information; and outputting said piece of control information to
said treating-member fabrication unit.
7. The system according to claim 6, wherein said piece of input
information further comprises at least one piece of information
selected from the group consisting of a piece of physical property
value information about said sample, a piece of treatment condition
information about said sample, and a piece of liquid sample related
information.
8. The system according to claim 6, wherein said flow path is
designed by optimizing a piece of shape information, read out from
a database in which a treatment sequence and the piece of shape
information are stored so as to correlate with each other, based on
a piece of information included in said piece of input
information.
9. The system according to claim 6, further comprising the step of
constructing a piece of drive control information about the
designed treating member, and outputting a piece of drive control
information about the designed treating member to a terminal to
which has output said piece of design information.
10. A system for providing a service to design a treating member,
comprising the steps of: acquiring a piece of input information
comprising a treatment sequence; designing a flow path along which
a sample moves based on said piece of input information; creating a
piece of control information for controlling a treating-member
fabrication unit, based on a piece of design information about the
designed flow path; and outputting said piece of control
information to said treating-member fabrication unit.
11. The system according to claim 10, wherein said piece of input
information further comprises at least one piece of information
selected from the group consisting of a piece of physical property
value information about said sample, a piece of treatment condition
information about said sample, and a piece of liquid sample related
information.
12. The system according to claim 10, wherein said flow path is
designed by optimizing a piece of shape information, read out from
a database in which a treatment sequence and the piece of shape
information are stored so as to correlate with each other, based on
a piece of information included in said piece of input information.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0001] The present application claims priority from Japanese
application JP 2004-055354 filed on Feb. 27, 2004, the content of
which is hereby incorporated by reference into this
application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a program for designing a
treating member to be used when treatments such as chemical
reactions are conducted as an automated process, and a system for
providing a service to design a treating member using the program
concerned.
[0003] In general, a chemical treatment process is constituted with
a sequence of individual treatments referred to as unit chemical
operations such as centrifugal separation and mixing/reaction.
Various processes have been developed, and these various chemical
treatment processes require complicated operations; generally,
individual treatment steps are carried out by hand sequentially in
such a way that samples and reagents are placed in glass flasks and
test tubes. However, for some operations, automated devices are
available. Examples of such automated devices include a centrifugal
separator in which components in a sample solution inside a test
tube are separated by specific gravity by revolving the test tube,
an evaporator device in which a flask is made to rotate and the
liquid inside the flask is evaporated, and a general-purpose robot
device which sucks up a trace of liquid inside a test tube and
transfers the liquid to another test tube or a reaction vessel.
[0004] WO 00/78455 describes a microstructure and a method for
examination using amplification as a device automating by rotary
drive a particular chemical treatment process and a particular
chemical analysis, both having been predetermined. In this device,
by use of a method for purifying and separating a nucleic acid
mixture, described in JP 8-501321 A, a DNA mixture solution is made
to pass through a glass filter as an inorganic substrate, and
thereafter made to pass through a cleaning liquid and an eluent,
thus merely the DNA being recovered. The glass filter is arranged
on a rotatable structure, and reagents such as the cleaning liquid
and the eluent are held respectively in individual reagent
reservoirs in the structure. The respective regents are made to
flow by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the
structure, and the valves arranged in the micro flow paths
connecting between the respective reagent reservoirs and the glass
filter are opened, the reagents being thereby made to pass through
the glass filter.
[0005] As can be seen clearly from the above description on
conventional techniques, in a sequential chemical treatment process
composed of a sequence of different unit chemical operations, the
individual unit chemical operations are needed to be carried out by
hand or by combining devices; the state of affairs is such that
there have not yet been proposed a technique and a device which can
completely automate a sequential process from beginning to end. In
the aforementioned WO 00/78455, there is disclosed a technique in
which for a particular treatment process of gene extraction, a
sequence of operations are completely automated by making liquids
flow by exerting centrifugal force through rotary driving; however,
this technique cannot meet arbitrary chemical treatment
processes.
[0006] Furthermore, for the purpose of carrying out an arbitrary
chemical treatment process, microstructures are needed to be
designed in compliance with the plural unit chemical operations
constituting the chemical treatment process. However, there has not
yet been known a program or a system which provides microstructures
in compliance with an arbitrary chemical treatment process.
[0007] Consequently, the present invention takes as its object the
provision of a program for designing a treating member which
program can provide a treating member automating a sequential
process in compliance with an arbitrary treatment process and a
system for providing a service system to design the treating
member.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A program for designing a treating member involved in the
present invention which program has achieved the aforementioned
object includes a step for acquiring a piece of input information
including a treatment sequence; and a step for designing a flow
path, along which a sample moves, based on the above described
piece of input information. According to the present program, there
can be constructed a piece of drive control information about the
designed treating member.
[0009] On the other hand, the system for designing a treating
member involved in the present invention includes a step for
acquiring a piece of design information about a flow path along
which a sample moves, designed based on a piece of input
information including a treatment sequence; a step for creating a
piece of control information for controlling a treating-member
fabrication unit based on the above described piece of design
information; and a step for outputting the above described piece of
control information to the above described treating-member
fabrication unit. In the present system, there can be constructed a
piece of drive control information about the designed treating
member, and there can be output the piece of drive control
information to the terminal having output the piece of design
information.
[0010] Additionally, the system for designing a treating member
involved in the present invention includes a step for acquiring a
piece of input information including a treatment sequence; a step
for designing a flow path along which a sample moves based on the
above described piece of input information; a step for creating a
piece of control information for controlling a treating-member
fabrication unit based on a piece of design information about the
designed flow path; and a step for outputting the above described
piece of control information to the above described treating-member
fabrication unit.
[0011] It is preferable that in the program and system for
designing the treating member, involved in the present invention,
in addition to a piece of information about the treatment sequence,
the piece of input information further include one or more pieces
of information selected from the group consisting of a piece of
operation information about the above described sample, a piece of
treatment condition information about the above described sample,
and a piece of information associated with samples. In the program
and system for designing the treating member, involved in the
present invention, the flow path can be designed by optimizing the
piece of shape information, read out from the database in which the
treatment sequence and the piece of shape information are stored to
correlate with each other, based on a piece of information included
in the piece of input information.
[0012] According to the present invention, there can be provided a
treating member which automates a sequential process in compliance
with an arbitrary chemical treatment process. More specifically,
according to the program for designing a treating member and the
system for designing a treating member, involved in the present
invention, there can be designed a treating member for carrying out
an arbitrary process, based on a piece of information about the
treatment sequence included in the piece of input information.
[0013] Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will
become apparent from the following description of the embodiments
of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for designing a
treating member involved in the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a device for carrying out a
chemical treatment process;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a device for carrying out a
chemical treatment process using a disc-shaped treating member;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for a fabrication method of a treating
member, applied to the program for designing a treating member
involved in the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating the information flow
in a system for designing a treating member;
[0019] FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram for an algorithm in the
program for designing a treating member; and
[0020] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing steps for fabricating a
treating member based on a piece of design information about the
treating member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Detailed description will be made below on the program for
designing the treating member and the system for designing the
treating member, both involved in the present invention, with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Best Embodiment
[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the system for designing the treating
member according to the present invention includes a user terminal
1 belonging to the system user side, a provision terminal 2 for
designing a flow path in the treating member to be used in a
chemical or other treatment process, and a treating-member
fabrication unit 3 for fabricating the treating member. In the
present system, the user terminal 1 and the provision terminal 2
are connected to each other through the intermediary of
communication network such as Internet and intranet, and can
exchange various types of data with each other. Incidentally, in
the present system, the unit 3 for fabricating the treating member
may be directly connected to the provision terminal 2, or may be
connected to the provision terminal 2 through the intermediary of
communication networks in a communicatable manner.
[0023] In the present system, a treating member to actualize the
treatment sequence desired by a user of the system is designed on
the provision terminal 2, and the treating member is fabricated by
the unit 3 for fabricating the treating member based on this
design. More specifically, on the provision terminal 2, according
to a processing program to be described later in detail, there are
executed a step for acquiring a piece of input information
including the treatment sequence desired by the user of the system
and a step for designing the flow path in the treating member based
on the above described piece of input information.
[0024] Firstly, a chemical treatment process will be described as a
treatment process in which a treating member fabricated by taking
advantage of the present system for designing a treating member.
Incidentally, the treatment process using the treating member is
not limited to a chemical treatment process, but may be a treatment
process such as a process in which merely a physical treatment is
carried out.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, a device for carrying out a chemical
treatment process includes a fixing jig 20 for placing and holding
a treating member 10 on the top thereof, a rotary drive mechanism
21 to turn the fixing jig 20, a control section 30 to control the
turning of the fixing jig 20 by the rotary drive mechanism 21. Into
the control section 30, for example, the rotational velocity, time
of rotation, stop time and the like of the fixing jig 20 are input,
and the control section 30 controls the rotary drive mechanism 21
according to this piece of input information. The rotary drive
mechanism 21 includes a drive member 22 such as a stepping motor
and a shaft 23 connected to the drive member 22. The fixing jig 20
is fixed to the shaft 23 of the rotary drive mechanism 21. On the
fixing jig 20, a pair of treating members 10 can be disposed
symmetrically with the shaft 23 of the rotary drive mechanism 21 as
a center therebetween.
[0026] The treating member 10 is arranged with an inlet 11 for
introducing a sample in the vicinity of one end thereof, and an
outlet 14 for recovering the sample in the vicinity of the other
end thereof. The treating member 10 has a flow path consisting of a
groove 13 along which a sample flows and a reaction section 12 to
apply a predetermined treatment to the sample, between the inlet 11
and the outlet 14. The treating member 10 like this can be
fabricated by molding a resin such as polypropylene.
[0027] The treating member 10 is temporarily fixed onto the fixing
jig 20 in such a way that the end in the vicinity of which the
inlet 11 is arranged is located on the side of the shaft 23 of the
rotary drive mechanism 21 and the other end in the vicinity of
which the outlet 14 is arranged is located to be away from the
shaft 23.
[0028] The device for carrying out a chemical treatment process
configured as described above is operated as follows. Firstly, an
operator drops a sample into the inlet 11 of the treating member
10, and thereafter the treating member 10 is fixed onto the fixing
jig 20. Additionally, the operator inputs predetermined treatment
conditions (for example, the rotation velocity, rotation time and
stop time) into the control section 30 for the purpose of carrying
out a desired chemical treatment process.
[0029] Thereafter, according to the input procedures, the rotary
drive mechanism 21 repeats rotation and halt. When the treating
member 10 rotates together with the fixing jig 20 with the aid of
the action of the rotary drive mechanism 21, the sample migrates
toward the outer circumference owing to centrifugal force.
Additionally, when the rotation is halted, the migration of the
sample is also halted. Consequently, by appropriately repeating the
rotation and halt, the sample dropped into the treating member 10
can be appropriately made to migrate and halted toward the
circumference. More specifically, according to the treatment
conditions input by the operator, the sample is guided into the
flow path consisting of the groove 13 and the reaction section 12,
and thus a desired chemical treatment process can be applied. In
the reaction section 12, a reaction of the sample is started.
Plural reaction sections (not shown in the figure) may be arranged
at positions downstream of the reaction section 12, namely, at
positions on the circumference side of the reaction section 12, as
the case may be. By further applying rotation and halt, the sample
is successively delivered and different unit chemical operations
can be sequentially carried out.
[0030] Incidentally, in the above described explanation,
description is made on the case where the procedures of the
chemical treatment process are input each time; however, as is
obvious, a recording medium on which procedures have been
beforehand recorded may be provided and operations may be carried
out sequentially by reading out therefrom a piece of information
about the procedures.
[0031] Additionally, the chemical treatment process can also be
carried out by means of such a device as shown in FIG. 3. The
device shown in FIG. 3 is a device in which a chemical treatment
process is carried out by using a treating member 10 made of a
disc.
[0032] In the treating member 10, sample introduction inlets 11 are
arranged in the vicinity of the rotational center of the disc. On
the disc surface of the treating member 10, flow paths each
consisting of a micro reaction section 12 and the like are
arranged. The treating member 10 also comprises a reagent charging
section 16 which contains a reagent in advance. However, a flow
path blocking section 15 made of a thermosensitive material is
arranged between the reagent charging section 16 and a reaction
section 12. The flow path blocking section 15 prevents the sample
charged in the reagent charging section 16 from flowing into the
reaction section 12. The flow path blocking section 15 has a
function such that the section is fused when the section receives
an amount of heat larger than a certain value, and thus the flow
path is opened.
[0033] Incidentally, the treating member 10 may be covered with a
case although the case is not shown in the figure. In the case
where the treating member 10 is covered with a case, the surface of
the case concerned is provided a slit for use in introducing
therethrough a sample into the treating member 10 and for use in
operating or detecting therethrough the flow of the sample.
[0034] The drive device 21 is arranged with an insertion slot 25
for inserting the treating member 10. A fixing jig 20 is arranged
at a position away from the insertion slot. The fixing jig 20 is
connected to a rotary mechanism 26. A sample handling device 22 for
controlling the flow of the sample, a heating device 23 for heating
the sample and a measurement device 24 for measuring the reaction
condition of the sample are arranged on a drive arm 27. The
measurement device 24 is arranged with an irradiation light source
and a photodetector for detecting the intensity and spectrum of the
reflected light. The drive arm 27 is connected to an arm drive
mechanism 28 for scanning from the center of the circle of the
treating member 10 toward the circumference thereof. The drive
mechanism 21 is connected to an input unit 30. Alternatively, the
drive mechanism 21 and the input unit 30 may be integrated into one
unit. With the configuration described above, the operations are
developed as follows.
[0035] Firstly, a sample is dropped into the introduction inlets 11
of the treating member 10. The treating member 10 is inserted into
the insertion slot 25. The treating member 10 is set onto the
fixing jig 20 in a manner cooperating with the insertion slot 25.
The condition thus formed completes the preparation for
startup.
[0036] In the next place, the operator reads out a piece of
operation control information from a memory device in the input
unit, corresponding to the chemical treatment process for the
treating member 10 piece with the aid of the input unit 30. With a
startup command, the treating member 10 starts to rotate. The
sample is starts to flow toward the circumference owing to the
centrifugal force accompanying the rotation. After a predetermined
elapsed time, the disc decreases the rotation velocity, the
treating member 10 is thereby made to rotate slowly, and the flow
path blocking section 15 on the treating member 10 is adjusted in
position to face the sample handling device 22.
[0037] A predetermined beam of light is irradiated from the sample
handling device 22 onto the flow path blocking section 15. The flow
path blocking section 15 is heated by the beam of light and fused,
and the reagent charging section 16 and the reaction section 12 are
made to communicatively connected with each other. When the
treating member 10 starts to rotate once again from this condition,
the sample in the reagent charging section 16 flows into the
reaction section 12 owing to centrifugal force. Thus, the sample
and a reagent can be mixed together in the reaction section 12.
[0038] The rotation velocity is once again decreased, and the above
described reaction section 12 is in turn adjusted in position to
face the heating device 23. The reaction section 12 is heated by
the radiation heat due to a heater in the heating device 23. The
reaction is promoted by this heating. After heating for a
predetermined time, the arm drive mechanism 27 operates to locate
the measurement device 24 directly above the above described
reaction section 12. Thereafter, a predetermined beam of light is
irradiated toward the reaction section 12 from the irradiation
light source of the measurement device 24. The photodetector in the
measurement device 24 can find the extent of reaction, the
concentrations and the like of the components contributed to the
reaction in the sample by detecting a set of optical information
including the absorption spectrum, fluorescence or the like in the
reaction section 12.
[0039] In the above described example, the flow path blocking
section 15 is fused by irradiating a beam of light from the sample
handling device 22 to communicate the reagent charging section 16
with the reaction section 12; however, as is obvious, the blockade
may be removed by a mechanical boring operation or the like.
Additionally, also in the heating device 23, heating may be made by
direct contact with a heater. Alternatively, the whole treating
member 10 may be heated.
[0040] In the above described Example, description has been made on
the mixing operation of one sample with one reagent; however, as is
obvious, many reactions can be combined stepwise by arranging
plural reagents and plural reaction vessels, and plural blocking
sections corresponding thereto along a direction toward the
circumference. In addition to reactions by mixing, component
separation can be made possible by arranging a chromatographic
function on the way of the flow path. Additionally, increase of the
rotation number makes it possible to give the treating member a
function to separate components in the vessel based on the
difference in specific gravity.
[0041] According to the above described example, for an arbitrary
chemical treatment process, it comes to be possible to carry out
the arbitrary chemical treatment process by using a treating member
10 consistent with the process. Additionally, in the treating
member 10 placed in a case, samples and reagents are not scattered
during its rotation, so that an extremely safe chemical treatment
is possible.
[0042] As described above, by using a treating member 10 capable of
carrying out plural different unit chemical operations, an
arbitrary chemical treatment process can be carried out. In the
next place, description will be made on the program for designing a
treating member for use in acquiring a piece of design information
about the treating member 10 on the occasion of fabricating the
treating member 10 to be used in the aforementioned chemical
treatment process. In the following description, as an example of
the treating member 10, there is adopted a treating member for
carrying out operation to separate micro particles such as bacteria
present in urine, environmental water and the like.
[0043] The present program for designing a treating member can
design a treating member 10 on the provision terminal 2 according
to the flowchart as shown in FIG. 4. In other words, the present
program for designing a treating member is installed in the
provision terminal, and designs on the provision terminal a
treating member for carrying out the treatment sequence desired by
a system user.
[0044] In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, firstly in step 1
(represented by "ST1" in FIG. 4, and the following steps being
represented similarly), a piece of input information including the
treatment sequence is acquired from the user terminal 1. Here, the
treatment sequence means a piece of information representing as a
time series the unit chemical operations included in the chemical
treatment process desired by the system user. The piece of input
information includes, in addition to the piece of information
representing the treatment sequence, a piece of liquid sample
related information such as the liquid-amount and liquid viscosity
of the analyte sample used in chemical treatment process, a piece
of treatment condition information, a piece of information about
the apparatus owned by the system user, a piece of ID information
specific to the system user and the like.
[0045] In particular, the unit chemical operations include a
centrifugal separation operation, a mixing operation, a
fractionation operation and the like. When the piece of information
representing the treatment sequence covers a mixing operation, it
is preferable that a set of information about the liquid amount and
the composition of the solution to be the object of mixing is
concurrently acquired as a part of the piece of input information.
Additionally, when the piece of information representing the
treatment sequence covers a fractionation operation, it is
preferable that a piece of information about the liquid amount and
the component to be fractionated of the solution is concurrently
acquired as a part of the piece of input information.
[0046] Specifically, as an example, there is acquired a piece of
input information covering the sequential unit chemical operations
represented by the following operations (1) to (8).
[0047] (1) The solid content in the sample solution is precipitated
by means of centrifugal separation.
[0048] (2) Merely the clear supernatant liquid is fractionated.
[0049] (3) A solvent to dissolve oil and fat components is added to
and mixed with the clear supernatant liquid.
[0050] (4) The above described solvent is precipitated with the aid
of centrifugal operation.
[0051] (5) Merely the clear supernatant liquid is fractionated.
[0052] (6) The clear supernatant liquid is subjected to stronger
centrifugal operation, and micro particles such as bacteria are
precipitated.
[0053] (7) The clear supernatant liquid is removed.
[0054] (8) The precipitate is recovered.
[0055] In the next place, in the step 2, the piece of input
information acquired in step 1 is decomposed into pieces of
information about the flow path on the rotary member, for example,
with the aid of the system for designing a treating member as shown
in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. More specifically, the step 2 selects a piece
of path shape/dimension information for each of the plural unit
chemical operations included in the piece of input information. For
example, the present program can also select a piece of path
shape/dimension information in compliance with the plural unit
chemical operations included in the piece of input information, by
use of a database in which a piece of information about the unit
chemical operations and a piece of path shape/dimension information
appropriate to the unit chemical operations concerned are stored to
correlate with each other.
[0056] Specifically, when a piece of input information covering the
above described unit chemical operations (1) to (8) is acquired, a
piece of design information about a treating member is acquired in
the following way as shown in FIG. 6.
[0057] Firstly, by making a flow path designing tool 50 retrieve
the database, as a piece of flow path shape/dimension information
corresponding to the unit chemical operation (1), a flow path
element for use in centrifugal separation extending along the
centrifugal force direction (a radial direction) is given to be a
fundamental shape. In the next place, there are given specific
dimensions including the length and width of the flow path in
compliance with the piece of sample liquid amount information
included in the piece of input information, the fundamental shape
is corrected on the basis thereof, and the piece of flow path
shape/dimension information corresponding to the unit chemical
operation (1) is acquired. The piece of flow path shape/dimension
information is temporarily accumulated in a recording device 51 as
a piece of flow path information for carrying out the unit chemical
operation (1).
[0058] When a piece of input information acquired includes the
sample composition, the physical property values of a material to
be precipitated and the like, a piece of information about the
acceleration to be exerted by the centrifugal separation, the time
required and the like is obtained by calculation based on the piece
of input information. In this case, as for the unit chemical
operation (1), a piece of operation information about the device
for carrying out the chemical treatment process can be obtained
based on these pieces of information. The set of operation
information obtained is accumulated in the recording device 51.
[0059] In the next place, by making the flow path designing tool 50
retrieve the database, as a piece of flow path shape/dimension
information corresponding to the unit chemical operation (2), in
the first instance, a capillary flow path element for
fractionation, transversely extending from the side face of the
flow path element for centrifugal separation designed in the above
described (1) and bent to the upstream side, is given to be a
fundamental shape. The liquid flow in the capillary flow path
element for fractionation is described. As a first step, the
centrifugal separation is completed, and the rotation of the rotary
member is halted; then, the clear supernatant liquid in the flow
path element for centrifugal separation fills the capillary flow
path element for fractionation owing to the capillary force. When
the rotation is started once again, because the outlet of the
capillary flow path element for fractionation is situated in an
outer position away from the rotation center than the inlet, the
clear supernatant liquid in the flow path element for centrifugal
separation starts to continuously flow owing to the siphon effect.
Then, based on the piece of physical property information
representing the surface tension of the sample solution and the
like, included in the piece of input information, the width of the
flow path and the like for the capillary flow are generated as a
piece of design information, and on the generated piece of design
information, the fundamental shape is corrected to acquire the
piece of flow path shape/dimension information corresponding to the
unit chemical operation (2). The piece of flow path shape/dimension
information is temporarily accumulated in the recording device 51
as a piece of flow path information for carrying out the unit
chemical operation (2).
[0060] If the surface tension coefficient, the viscosity, etc. of
the clear supernatant liquid to be fractionated are acquired as a
piece of input information, based on these pieces of information,
the minimum time for the clear supernatant liquid to fill the
capillary flow path element for fractionation and the minimum time
needed for complete flow out of the clear supernatant liquid from
the interior of the flow path element for centrifugal separation by
means of a syphon are obtained by calculation. In this case, as for
the unit chemical operation (2), a piece of operation information
about the device for carrying out the chemical treatment process
can be obtained based on these pieces of information. The piece of
operation information obtained is accumulated in the recording
device 51.
[0061] In the next place, as a piece of flow path shape/dimension
information corresponding to the unit chemical operation (3), as a
first step, there is given a flow path element for mixing which
forms one flow path from two confluent flow paths extending along
the direction of the centrifugal force (the radial direction). In
the next place, there are given specific dimensions and the like
based on the piece of information about the liquid amount, the
viscosity, the composition and the like of the solution to be an
object of mixing, included in the piece of input information, the
fundamental shape is corrected on the basis thereof, and the piece
of flow path shape/dimension information corresponding to the unit
chemical operation (3) is acquired. The piece of flow path
shape/dimension information is temporarily accumulated in the
recording device 51 as a piece of flow path information for
carrying out the unit chemical operation (3).
[0062] Incidentally, on the occasion of the unit chemical operation
(3), there can be obtained a piece of information about the
viscosities and affinities of two liquids to be mixed together
based on the database. Additionally, when one liquid is an aqueous
solution and the other liquid is an organic solvent, and
accordingly there is needed an operation in which the two liquids
are mutually, finely dispersed and emulsified, the fundamental
shape of the above described flow path element for mixing can be
corrected in such a way that a large number of micro protrusions or
a large number of micro convexities and concavities are arranged
inside the flow path element.
[0063] Additionally, based on the pieces of physical property value
information about the two liquids to be mixed together, there can
be obtained by calculation a piece of operation information
including the flow velocities with which the two liquids should be
respectively introduced into the flow path element for mixing. In
this case, for the unit chemical operation (3), a piece of
operation information about the device for carrying out the
chemical treatment process can be obtained based on these pieces of
information. The obtained piece of operation information is
accumulated in the recording device 51.
[0064] As described below, similarly to the aforementioned (1) to
(3), there is also given a fundamental shape to each of the unit
chemical operations (4) to (7), the fundamental shape is corrected
according to a piece of information included in the piece of input
information; thus, there can be obtained pieces of path
shape/dimension information respectively corresponding to the unit
chemical operations (4) to (7). Additionally, in a similar manner,
for the unit chemical operations (4) to (7), there can be acquired
pieces of operation information about the device with which the
chemical treatment process is carried out. Incidentally, because
the unit chemical operation (8) is an operation which recovers the
precipitate formed by the unit chemical operation (6), no
particular piece of flow path shape/dimension information is
needed.
[0065] In the above described manner, the pieces of flow path
shape/dimension information for carrying out the respective unit
chemical operations (1) to (7) and the pieces of operation
information in the respective unit chemical operations can be
sequentially accumulated in the recording device 51.
[0066] In the next place, in step 3, the pieces of flow path
shape/dimension information, accumulated in the recording device
51, for carrying out the respective unit chemical operations are
read out, and the flow path of the treating member 10 is designed
by means of a device 52 for designing a treating member. More
specifically, the device 52 for designing a treating member, as a
first step, arranges the pieces of path shape/dimension information
for carrying out the respective unit chemical operations according
to the time series, sequentially from the inlet toward the outlet.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the pieces of flow path
shape/dimension information corresponding to the respective unit
chemical operations (1) to (7) are read out, the arrangement
designs for the respective flow paths on the treating member is
carried out, and the respective flow paths are arranged in such a
way that the flow paths are shifted away little by little from the
rotation center along the radial direction. The piece of
arrangement information is accumulated in a device 53 for recording
a treating member structure.
[0067] Additionally, in the present step, because the locations
along the radial direction from the center of the respective flow
path elements are determined, based on the locations along the
radial direction and the pieces of operation information needed for
the respective flow path elements, there are acquired pieces of
drive information including the rotation numbers and the like in
carrying out the respective treatments. More specifically, in the
present step, there can be acquired a piece of drive control
information about the device with which the chemical treatment
process is carried out. The piece of drive control information is
accumulated in a device 60 for recording the piece of drive
information about the treating member. Incidentally, the piece of
drive information accumulated in the device 60 for recording the
piece of drive control information about a treating member is
transmitted to the user terminal 1.
[0068] On the other hand, in step 4, the piece of design
information about the treating member in the device 53 for
recording a treating member structure is transmitted to a tool 70
for high speed processing of a treating member. The tool 70 for
high speed processing of a treating member fabricates the treating
member, based on the received piece of design information about the
treating member, in a manner as shown in FIG. 7. Incidentally, the
fabrication process of a treating member shown in FIG. 7 is an
example, and the fabrication of a treating member based on the
piece of design information about the treating member is not
limited to the method shown in FIG. 7, but any other methods may be
applied.
[0069] According to the method shown in FIG. 7, as a first step,
based on the piece of flow path shape information, the surface 78
of a blank workpiece coated with a negative photosensitive resin is
exposed to light in conformity with the flow path shape with the
aid of a laser 76. Then, a corrosive liquid is applied onto the
surface 78 of the blank workpiece to remove the exposed area.
Consequently, a treating member 101 on which the desired flow path
is formed can be fabricated, and is used in a condition such that a
lid 102 is adhered thereto.
[0070] Alternatively, a stamper 103 may be made in such a way that
the surface 78 of a blank workpiece coated with a positive
photosensitive resin is exposed to light in conformity with the
flow path shape with the aid of the laser 76, and a corrosive
liquid is applied onto the surface to remove the resin while the
flow path portion is left intact. In this case, a treating member
104 can be fabricated in such a way that a resin is poured onto the
stamper 103, and after curing, the resin is released.
[0071] The treating member fabricated as described above is used in
a device owned by the user side and shown in FIG. 3, and repeats
rotation/halt according to the piece of drive control information.
Incidentally, the piece of drive control information may be made to
be arbitrarily alterable in pieceting on the user side. Hereby,
chemical experiments based on altering various types of parameters
can be easily carried out.
[0072] As described above, according to a system and a program for
designing a treating member involved in the present invention,
there can be acquired a piece of design information about a
treating member desired by the user, and concurrently a piece of
drive control information about the treating member fabricated
based on the concerned piece of design information. Accordingly, on
the user side, by merely presenting at least a desired treatment
sequence, there can be obtained a piece of drive control
information about the device to be used for the treating member
capable of carrying out the treatment sequence concerned and for
the treatment process using the treating member concerned.
Second Best Embodiment
[0073] In the aforementioned first best embodiment, based on the
piece of input information entered by the system user, the design
of the treating member is carried out on the provision terminal
side; however, the technical scope of the present invention is not
limited to the first best embodiment.
[0074] In other words, as a second best embodiment applied with the
present invention, the system for designing a treating member may
be a system in which a piece of design information about the
treating member 10 is acquired on the user terminal 1 belonging to
the system user side, and the acquired piece of design information
is output toward the provision terminal. In this case, a program
for designing a treating member is installed in the user terminal
1, and steps 1 up to 3 shown in FIG. 4 are executed on the user
terminal 1. In this connection, the program for designing a
treating member may be arranged to be downloaded into the user
terminal 1 after the system user have received certification from
the provision terminal 2.
[0075] Additionally, the user terminal 1 outputs the piece of
design information about the treating member acquired at step 3
toward the provision terminal. Hereby, on the provision terminal 2
side, the acquired piece of design information about the treating
member is transmitted to the tool 70 for high speed processing of
the treating member (step 4). Also in the present system, the tool
70 for high speed processing of the treating member can fabricate
the treating member in a manner as shown in FIG. 7, based on the
received piece of design information about the treating member.
[0076] In the present system, on the user terminal 1 on the system
user side, the piece of design information about the treating
member is acquired by use of the program for designing a treating
member, and consequently, no piece of input information is needed
to be transmitted from the user terminal 1 to the provision
terminal 2. The piece of input information includes pieces of
information which the system user does not want to disclose such as
a piece of information about the unit chemical operations of the
chemical treatment process desired by the user side. According to
the present system, merely the piece of design information about
the treating member is output from the system user to the provision
terminal 2 side, and hence a piece of information which the system
user does not want to disclose can be concealed from the provider
side.
[0077] It should be further understood by those skilled in the art
that although the foregoing description has been made on
embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto
and various changes and modifications may be made without departing
from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *